sorriso

First of all, I can't believe it's been 20 years since I first posted a question in this forum; where does the time go??? Since I discovered it Fodor's Travel forums have been my number 1 place to research a trip, I value the honest (and opinionated) posts here and the dedication of those who take the time to do so.

This will be my first completely solo trip; I did travel to Amsterdam to visit my son four times with one side trip to Spain by myself. But that's it. I need to keep relative safety in mind. During covid quarantine all I could think about was going to Italy, to a small town to eat good food, wander around, drink wine, eat gelato, and sit and watch the world go by. Last June my son and I got as far as the airport on a planned trip to Umbria (Perugia, Spello, Norcia) and our flight was cancelled. The rescheduled flight was 3 days later with 2 stops (had been non-stop) and we made the hard decision to cancel. It is most unlikely that he'll be able to travel in the fall. I don't want to put this off any longer. I want to go to Italy!

I have previously been to Rome, Bergamo, Verona, Venice with day trips to Lake Garda and Milan. My budget is modest. I do not want to drive, have no problem with public transportation, want to eat pasta, don't like seafood (don't hate me!), want to listen to people speaking Italian and practice mine, don't care to spend a lot of time in museums, would love to go on hikes if not inadvisable, want to walk around and explore, love local architecture and churches and houses. If I go for one week I'll go to one place (you might convince me to go to two) but I'm hoping for at least 10 days.

So, where should I go?!

bilboburgler

I think it is time to go south

Either Lecce in Puglia (fly into Bari or Brindisi and catch the bus) Ancient golden stoned centre, lots of gelato

Or Palermo, a more chaotic city but with lots to do

sorriso

Chaotic city isn't top of my list (I'll probably spent the last 1 or 2 nights in Rome before flying out)(and I may change my mind) BUT I will definitely have fun checking out Lecce. Thank you bilboburgler for taking the time out to respond!

bilboburgler

I got married there, so don't hesitate to come back

Traveler_Nick

How modest is the budget? Hotels have soared in prices. Also depending on which month it'll still be high season.

November second week until say mid December should be cheaper. But I wouldn't suggest planning a hike. Maybe if you want to think about it last minute when you can see the weather but not something to set your heart on in advance. If you're thinking October expect high hotel prices. I know it's not even June but I bet many of the more economical locations have already seen bookings. I've had a booking for November in Venice since mid winter.

Florence isn't on your list. Neither is Bologna.

TDudette

Happy 20 years, sorriso! My late DH and I loved Pisa, Spoleto and Perugia as bases for Italy travel Click on my name to see trip reports. All but D.C./Md. are pre-covid so do double-check for what's current. Please share your trip back to Bella Italia!



​​​​​

macdogmom

I have a friend that just spent some time in Sardinia and loved it. We have returned a few times to the Ligurian coast and stayed in Camolgi. We also really enjoyed our time in Puglia and town of Matera although that area is hard to navigate without a car.

bilboburgler

Lecce has two train stations a route in from the north and a route down into the south of the heel where the towns are very interesting strange places, especially after the summer season. Lecce has some posh hotels but also some old buildings converted into B&Bs which are worth looking at.

bilboburgler

Certainly in terms of cycle paths around lecce there are some and I guess they are hikeable https://www.piste-ciclabili.com/comune-lecce

Gio2012

Hello... I haven't seen all the replies... however fall in Italy is: wine&truffles in some areas mainly north (like Alba- in Piedmont), great sunshine days for bike tours in many other regions (Tuscany, Lazio), maybe with mountain, sun&beach in the south -- this is from mid september up to beginning of november.. I am expert in Alba area... there you can have great wine, truffles with the dedicated fair, visiit of wineries, organize mountan bike tours (even e-bike if you are not trained..) then can spend 2 days in Turin to visit great museum (egyptian and royal family)... hiking can be done anywhere, probably best area is cinque terre... other options can be bike tour of the laguna veneta, maybe why not spend a week in Umbria or 2 weeks in Sicily or have 2 weeks in campania to spend 12 hours in Pompei.. have fun. AH was forgetting... Alba is the place of the special local raw meat... try it,

zebec

Bevagna. Easy access to Perugia, Spello and Norcia.
I am done. the fall

OlavE

Hi, this depends somewhat on exactly when in the fall you are going. Mid september is not the same as late november. The later you are going, the bigger incentive for going further south in Italy.

If you are going a bit earlier, It have a couple of suggestions. Stresa on the westerns shore of Lago Maggiore could be a good option. Short way from Milano Malpensa with train, very scenic town and a lot of good options for hiking. Also good for exploring the rest of Lago Maggiore, either with a boat or bus/train.

Also I can see on a rail map that towns like Orvieto and Arezzo are not a very long train journey from Rome. I see that others have mentioned towns in the same region.

indyhiker

I think your previous impulse to spend time in Umbria was a good one. I’d stay in Spello myself. From there, you can take the train to Spoleto, Assisi, Perugia. I can PM you a link to an apartment my husband and I have rented three times. The owner lives next door and is a delight. The apartment is very budget friendly and centrally located. Let me know if you’re interested.

Birdie

Have you checked the price of airfare to Italy yet? That may narrow things down a bit.

jangita

There have to be at least a hundred valid answers to this question!
For me, I would choose Alba in Piemonte. The food will be excellent. There is good train service. You could go to Torino for a museum day and maybe bus to the smaller villages. Second choice: Spoleto. There's a lot more to do there than Spello, suggested above.

Good luck choosing!

Iahawk

I would suggest you look at Florence with a couple of day trips (Pisa?) and then head south towards Siena and Tuscany. Late September will be busy as its the end of harvest so rooms could be scare and/or pricey. We stayed at an agritourismo near Montalcino - La Crociona - that was lovely. You will need a car to venture out beyond Siena however.

sorriso

Yes, I've been tracking! I have a credit with Delta that expires at the end of the year and I prefer to use it to go to Italy. In 2021 the airfare I paid for a flight went down TWICE and by quite a bit; I don't want to lose it.

sorriso

Thank you for the recommendation jasonjulius0207. As I mentioned in my post I have been to Rome (twice), clearly I agree it's amazing .

sorriso

I have 2 nieces who each spent a semester in Italy, one in Florence and the other in Siena. They are each highly recommending their respective cities and they are both tempting. On this trip I won't be venturing, I am perfectly content with relaxing into the place and experiencing. Good point about September and harvest, I was thinking about avoiding summer tourism (and heat). Agritourismo is another thing I'd like to experience.

sorriso

Yes, I agree jangita, there are indeed at least a 100 valid answers and it was giving me a headache so I thought I'd check in for others experiences! Alba is one that has never come up before, thank you!